


Nice to See You Again

by AshaDasha



Category: Donkey Kong (Video Games), Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Bromance, Friendship, Gen, Growing Apart, Male Friendship, Old Friends, Pasta?, Strained Friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 21:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9626960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshaDasha/pseuds/AshaDasha
Summary: It's been a long time since Mario's wedding to Princess Toadstool, and Donkey Kong hasn't seen him since. They're meeting for dinner tonight, and Donkey Kong wonders what his old friend will be like.





	

Round brown eyes flicked to and from the clock to the door.

The shoddy-looking coconut clock ticked steadily on, and the eyes followed the movement of the second hand as it went around the face again and again. Five wide toes tapped the rough wooden floor over and over, sending small tremors throughout the treehouse with each _thump_. A bright red tie hung around a thick hairy neck and lay against a massively broad chest. The chest moved quickly and silently in short breaths, but to its owner, it felt like the heart inside was thudding hard like his bongo drums.

For such an imposing figure, Donkey Kong was very nervous.

Minutes ticked by without incident. The treehouse was looking unusually clean. There were no banana peels lying about, the bed was freshly made and the table was sporting what looked like a self-made table cloth. Fibres stood out every inch or so, and the lines on the checkerboard pattern were off, but it was the best Donkey Kong could do with his mediocre tools.

Just as Donkey Kong’s eyes were counting all of the loose fibres again, a soft rap on the door caused him to jump with such alarm that the tie around his neck flapped up and hit him in the face.

“Hello?” came a voice outside. “It’s, uh, me”.

Straightening his tie again, Donkey Kong walked quickly over to the door to let in his guest. It had been so long since they’d last seen each other. Had they changed? Would they remain unbothered by his primal lifestyle? Or would aristocracy have changed him? The door creaked loudly as it swung inwards to reveal the red-capped, bushy-moustached man Donkey Kong had been anticipating.

 “Hello DK, it’s-a good to see you,” grinned a bright-eyed Mario. “May I come in-a-side?”

Donkey Kong inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. From the looks of his stained overalls, the unkempt hair underneath the cap, and the ear to ear smile on his face, he hadn’t changed a bit (though there were now some silver flecks in the moustache, and what looked like the beginnings of some wrinkles on his forehead).

“Hoogh hoogh,” Donkey Kong grunted happily in greeting. He shifted quickly out of the way, noticing the big steel platter in Mario’s hands for the first time while he stepped through the doorway. A tantalising aroma found its way into Donkey Kong’s nostrils, which widened considerably to take in the delicious, spicy scent.

“You seem-a to be enjoying my cooking already, eh?” said Mario, setting the platter on the table and sitting down. “Mama’s recipe, I think you’ll enjoy it.” Donkey Kong moved to a barrel next to the table, on which sat two rough wooden plates and crude cutlery. As he set about placing these on the table, Mario spoke, with mild surprise, “I didn’t know you used-a knives or forks”. Donkey Kong shrugged and poked at Mario with a fork. _I don’t, but you do_. Mario nodded in understanding. Donkey Kong’s lack of ability to speak was once a barrier in their communication, but after many years spent in each other’s company, Mario could read his expressions and body language almost like a book.

Donkey Kong sat down at the table and stared expectantly at the platter. The smell continued its conquest of his senses. It was so enticing that it drove most other thoughts out of his head. Mario opened his mouth, but the words that came out did not shake Donkey Kong from his reverie. A few moments passed, then a loud “ahem” caused him to look back up at his guest, who had a distinct twinkle in his eye.

“I just asked if you were hungry, but I guess I got-a my answer!” With a wide smile, Mario pulled the platter lid off to reveal a very large dish of spaghetti and meatballs. Donkey Kong’s eyes widened as he took in the sight. His mouth started to salivate. For an ape who lived on mostly bananas, this was a rare delicacy. His hand moved instinctively towards the dish to grab some, but he looked at Mario’s amused expression across the table and made to grab for a fork instead.

“Don’t-a worry about it, DK,” said Mario, after shovelling some spaghetti from the platter onto his own plate. He pushed the remaining spaghetti towards the hungry ape in front of him, who grinned and started to tuck into the spaghetti bare-handed.

The meal did not last long. After only a few minutes, when the last sounds of chomping and slurping had died away, Mario gave a loud belch.

“Mama mia” he said, patting his belly. Sensing a challenge, Donkey Kong opened his mouth, and what sounded like thunder rumbled forth from his belly, spilling out into the air between them and causing the platter on the table to rattle. Mario looked shocked for only a moment, before bursting out into a hearty laugh, to which Donkey Kong soon joined in. After that too died away, and Mario had wiped his mouth on a handkerchief (Donkey Kong did the same on the table cloth), the two lapsed into a comfortable silence.

The silence didn’t bother Donkey Kong. Being incapable of speech, the lack of conversation certainly wasn’t new to him. He knew that, as a human, Mario would want to at least talk a little, but Donkey Kong was more of a doer. Even now, at this time of night, and with a full belly, he wanted nothing more than to swing through the forest with his old friend. Any moment now, though, Mario would start to talk, and Donkey Kong only wished it wouldn’t last for too long.

Mario, however, was actually deep in thought. He was deep in thought a lot of the time now. His marriage to Princess Peach had made him the Prince of the Mushroom Kingdom, and as such, his number of adventures and his responsibilities had switched places dramatically, leaving him a little more thoughtful than he used to be. He sat thinking over his recent meeting with the delegates from the Koopas. He hoped it had gone alright, but it was hard to tell, with politicians.

It was Donkey Kong who first broke the silence.

“Hoogh?” he grunted, in way of a question. _Something bothering you?_ Brought back to the present, Mario shook his head to clear it and smiled apologetically.

“Sorry, DK. It’s-a nothing important.” He said. Donkey Kong raised an eyebrow. _Really?_

“Well, nothing that you would find important.” Mario elaborated. Donkey Kong sniffed and looked at him indignantly. _Try me._ Mario sighed.

“Okey dokey, if-a you say so. It’s-a the delegates from the Koopa Kingdom. It’s all this talk of peace treaties and deals, and it’s driving me crazy!” the words exploded from Mario as though he had been dying to say them for ages. “They keep increasing their demands in their half of the peace settlement, but they were the ones who caused all the trouble in the first place! Kidnapping the princess over and over again, and acting like we’re the bad guys. Mama mia…”

Donkey Kong didn’t understand all of the words Mario had just said, but the meaning was clear. The fancy turtles were giving his friend a headache.

“Hoogh hoogh” Donkey Kong suggested, hitting his fist lightly against the table. _Just stomp them if you’re so tired of it._ Mario smiled weakly.

“Oh, you don’t know how much I’d love to, but Peach and her father keep-a stressing how important inter-Kingdom relations are. If we’re always at war with our neighbours, it’s-a not good for the people. And I won’t always be there to stop Bowser. He’s a Koopa, after all. He’ll outlive me, and I don’t just have an extra life-a laying around.” Mario groaned and rubbed his face. Donkey Kong looked surprised. He had never seen his friend look so tired out, nor had he ever used so many big words before. Mario dropped his hands and smiled apologetically again.

“I’m-a sorry DK. But you did ask.” Mario said. Donkey Kong didn’t have a response to this, so he shrugged. “Anyway, I shouldn’t be thinking about that, not while I’m-a here. How are Diddy and Dixie? I haven’t seen them in years.” Donkey Kong brightened at the mention of his favourite nephew and his girlfriend.

“Haroogh, hoogh” He said, and made a cradling motion. _Great! They’ve had a baby!_

”A baby?” Mario asked, wide-eyed. Donkey Kong nodded. “Wahoo! That’s great! Is it a boy or a girl? What’s-a their name?” The first question was easy enough to answer. Donkey Kong pointed at himself. _Boy_. The name was a little trickier. Donkey Kong knew his name, of course, and could say it in his primal grunting, but Mario wouldn’t be able to understand that. Spotting the platter in front of him, he wrote the name in the leftover sauce and spun the platter around. Mario leant forward to decipher the ape’s crude handwriting.

_Hanky_

“Hanky Kong. I’d love to meet him.” Mario said, smiling brightly. Donkey Kong jumped to his feet, grunting excitedly, and beckoning to the door. _We can!_ Mario’s face fell slightly. “Don’t they live next to Vine Valley?” Donkey Kong nodded, still beaming. “But… we couldn’t make it tonight, could we?” Donkey Kong lowered his hand, looking confused. Of course he could. He could swing through the trees as fast as Mario could run, and Mario was always a good runner.

Donkey Kong looked closer at Mario’s figure, however, and, feeling crestfallen, understood. As excited as he was to see him earlier, he hadn’t quite noticed that Mario’s dungaree’s looked a little tighter, his arms a little flabbier, his belly a little chubbier. But he did now. Royalty had not been kind to Mario’s physique.

“I’m sorry DK, I’m not as, um… fit as I used to be.” Mario said quietly. Donkey Kong struggled to not look too disappointed and shrugged at him. _Another day, then_. As much as he had been looking forward to it, a night-time adventure to his nephew’s house seemed off the cards tonight. He sat back down again, resigning himself to more conversation. He hoped they would at least have a small lap around the jungle later.

They lapsed into silence again, this time a little more awkward. Mario cast around his mind for a topic, crawling all the way back through his memory for something to discuss. A lot had occurred between these two heroes since they first met. They had gone on many adventures together, and when they weren’t adventuring, they were challenging each other in friendly rivalry to games of tennis or kart racing. Their grandfathers had been stern enemies, but Mario and Donkey Kong found a rather strange, but firm, friendship, built on a foundation of a shared love of adventure.

“Had any troubles with the banana hoard?” Mario asked. Donkey Kong nodded hurriedly multiple times. _Oh yeah, loads!_

“King K. Rool again?” he nodded.  “And you stomped him flat?” another nod.  “Good.”

Donkey Kong inclined his head towards Mario questioningly. _You?_

“Oh, DK, you know I don’t have a banana hoard.” Mario said, grinning. Donkey Kong rolled his eyes. _Not what I meant._ Mario laughed, and then, his moment of humour gone, sighed.

“No, I haven’t had to rescue the Princess since I’ve married her. In fact, I haven’t had any kind of romp around the kingdom since.” Mario saw the stunned look on Donkey Kong’s face, and felt a little pang inside of his stomach. Donkey Kong blinked once, twice, three times, then tilted his head and frowned a little. _Not even one?_

“No, DK, I’ve been-a very busy. Becoming the prince of the Mushroom Kingdom comes with it’s-a own kind of adventures.” Donkey Kong’s eyes lit up at this, and made a shooing motion with his head.

“Hoogh hoogh”, he grunted excitedly. _Go on, tell me about them!_ Mario hesitated, but, seeing the insistent look on the ape’s face, began his story.

“Well, alright. First of all, not too soon after the wedding, Bowser sent his-a first delegate from the Koopa Kingdom to congratulate us on the marriage. I was about ready to stomp-a him, but that’s when I got-a my first lesson in diplomacy from-a the Princess. So instead we took him on a tour of the castle, and held a feast in the really big hall we’ve got, you know the one, with all of-a the chandeliers. Anyway, -“ Donkey Kong felt his excitement ebb away with each word that came out of his best friend’s mouth. _He calls these adventures?_ He thought to himself, as Mario started on another story of how he established a key trade deal with the Koopalings after a long series of charmingly clever (but false) compliments on their infrastructure. Donkey Kong was by no means an idiot, but he was still an ape, and as such, while Mario became more invested in his story as he went along, his attention became fainter, until eventually he was so lost in boredom that his glassy stare had drifted completely onto the patchy tablecloth and he began to count the loose threads again.

“-I was-a so close to just saying “You’re giving me a damn headache!” but I held my tongue, and I managed to negotiate the safe passage of those tourists through the kingdom. After the pretty shaky reception we got, I’m-a pretty proud of how I handled that, what do you say, huh, DK?” Mario finished another story with a searching look for approval from his old friend, but he discovered him with eyelids half closed, jaw half slack and paying no attention whatsoever.

“ _ahem_ ,” came the noise from Mario’s throat, to no response. “Yoo-hoo? DK!” Donkey Kong’s tie flapped as the ape shook himself back to attentiveness. Mario’s slightly hurt gaze met with Donkey Kong’s guilty looking one, and neither said anything for a moment. Mario sighed, and dropped his eyes.

“Sorry, DK. I know you’ve never really been-a much for conversation, let alone politics.” Mario looked back up, and Donkey Kong shook his head and beckoned with his hand. _No, that’s fine, keep going_.

“No no, I’ll-a shut up with my boring talk. Let’s-a talk about something else.” Mario sat back and cast his mind around again for something to talk about. Donkey Kong did the same, albeit somewhat distracted by pangs of guilt. After many long minutes, Mario discovered that they had very little to talk about. Donkey Kong tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn. Not too long after, Mario yawned as well.

“Well, it’s-a getting a little late. I should get back to the castle. I have some work to do tomorrow.” Mario said, getting to his feet. He shouldered the platter and made his way to the door, followed by Donkey Kong. He stopped and turned around, looking up into the great big face of his friend.

“It’s, um… it’s-a been good to see you again, DK. I’ll, ah, have to have you over for dinner at the castle.” The words stumbled awkwardly out from under Mario’s moustache. Donkey Kong nodded twice a little too quickly. _Yeah, yeah of course._

“Yes, so… Goodbye.” Mario waved, then opened the door and stepped quickly out, closing it shut behind him. On either side of the door, both heroes felt their shoulders sag. Donkey Kong stood there until Mario’s footsteps faded from earshot, then slowly made his way to the bed and flopped down onto it. He moaned into the coarse fabric, turning over the night in his head. He’d never been this disappointed after a dinner of Mario’s spaghetti and meatballs. The hope he had felt at the start of the evening had become a lead-like mass of disappointment in his stomach. Mario had, in fact, changed.

 _Not that it’s his fault, really,_ thought Donkey Kong, _After being surrounded by people like that for so long, you’d probably get boring too. He just hasn’t had the chance to go on an adventure in ages. He used to be the star of the kingd-_

Donkey Kong’s train of thought screeched to a halt. An idea began to form in his head. A wonderful, brilliant idea. He lay awake, toying with it, before deciding that it was indeed, a perfect idea, and let sleep take him while being hugged by the warmth of hope that had just caught flame again. When morning came, he wasted no time in leaping out of bed and out the door, grunting in excitement as he raced towards the nearest Toad village.

He had a plan.

 

* * *

 

 

“Your Highness? Your Highness!” said the wheezing voice of Toadsworth. Mario looked up from the report he had been staring blankly at during breakfast. It was usually fairly quiet during the dining hall during breakfast; Many aristocrats liked to sleep in.

“Wah? Sorry, Toadsworth, what is it?” Mario barely stifled a yawn. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.

“You have a package, Your Highness.” Toadsworth motioned to the courier paratroopa. Mario had to admit, as much as he didn’t like having to settle peace treaties, having flying mailmen were certainly a huge boon.

“Hmm? What kind of-a package?” Mario asked. The paratroopa pulled a gift-wrapped box tied with a bow out of his bag and held it out. The box looked as if it had been hand wrapped in paper by a child with one arm.

“Well, it looks like a gift, Your Highness. Pray, be careful!” Toadsworth shot quickly as Mario reached out and took the box, “there was no tag on it, it could be dangerous!” Mario paused with the box in his hands. He had been about to pull the bow off, but instead, he gingerly held it to his ear and gave it a little shake. It twinkled.

“One way to find out,” Mario said, pulling off the box and lifting the lid. He peered inside and after a few moments, grinned to himself. “Ah, of course. I know who this is-a from.”

“You do? Who, might I ask?” Toadsworth said. Mario ignored him. He was deep in thought about whether he should _do it_ or not. _It’s been so long…_ After many moments of consideration, he through caution to the wind and placed his hands on the Super Star in the box.

Energy coursed through him. Stardust tingled up and down his arms and legs. It felt like a hundred rainbows sliding up and down his skin, and seeping into his muscles. His arms felt stronger. His legs felt faster. His belly felt lighter. Mario pushed himself back from the table and backflipped over his chair, landing straight legged with his arms wide.

“Wahaa!” he cried. Mario didn’t just feel young again, he felt _youthful_.

“Your Highness! Please, calm down-“ Toadsworth started, but Mario cut him off.

“Toadsworth, clear my schedule for today, I’m-a going for a run!” He took off, bouncing off of the paratroopa’s head and towards the door.

“What!?!” Toadsworth shouted, rushing after the prince, “But Your Highness, you have a very important meeting today!” Mario laughed.

“Ha ha ha, yes, I sure-a do!” he cried, and ran down the halls, past the servants and cleaners and other lords, out the doors and across the grounds. He jumped and leaped and bounced his way through the castle gardens, startling many of the early rising townsfolk and tourists. As Mario charged out through the gates, he could have sworn he heard a couple cheers. He set his sights on the horizon and raced towards the distant jungle.

“ _Yaaahoooooooo!_ ”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you've enjoyed! I'm a little rusty, been a while since I've actually done proper emotion in a story, and my first on this site, so heyo! Criticism is how I get better, no eggshells around me, so feel free to tear it apart.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Mama Mia, Papa Pia, Hope You Don't Have Gonorrhoea](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9627083) by [Hanky Panky Franky (AshaDasha)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshaDasha/pseuds/Hanky%20Panky%20Franky)




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